Abstract
Ground- and space-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers can provide three-dimensional (3D) information about the occurrence of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs). For this study, we selected March 2014 data (during solar maximum of cycle 24) for the analysis. The timing and the latitudinal dependence of the EPBs occurrence rate are derived by means of the rate of the total electron content (TEC) index (ROTI) data from GNSS receivers in China, whereas vertical profiles of the scintillation index S4 are provided by COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate). The GNSS receivers of the low Earth orbit satellites give information about the occurrence of amplitude scintillations in limb sounding geometry where the focus is on magnetic latitudes from 20° S to 20° N. The occurrence rates of the observed EPB-induced scintillations are generally smaller than those of the EPB-induced ROTI variations. The timing and the latitude dependence of the EPBs occurrence rate agree between the ground-based and spaceborne GNSS data. We find that EPBs occur at 19:00 LT and they are mainly situated above the F2 peak layer which descended from 450 km at 20:00 LT to 300 km at 24:00 LT in the equatorial ionosphere. At the same time, the spaceborne GNSS data also show, for the first time, a high occurrence rate of post-sunset scintillations at 100 km altitude, indicating the coexistence of equatorial sporadic E with EPBs.
Highlights
Manifested as irregular electron density or total electron content (TEC) variations, the equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) are a phenomenon related to the collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI)
This paper aims to investigate the characteristics of EPBs in space- and ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data
We focus on low latitude regions at longitude ~110◦ E in south China in March 2014 when EPBs occurred every day of the month, and a common underlying cause to seed the RTI can be examined
Summary
Manifested as irregular electron density or total electron content (TEC) variations, the equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) are a phenomenon related to the collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI)mechanisms. Manifested as irregular electron density or total electron content (TEC) variations, the equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) are a phenomenon related to the collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI). EPBs extend along the magnetic flux tube to higher latitudes and often reach the equatorial ionization anomaly crest [1]. These plasma irregularities disturb radio communication and navigation by causing phase and amplitude scintillations or even signal loss, which is an important issue for space weather [2]. The study of the RTI and EPBs is relevant to progress in understanding and modeling of ionospheric plasma physics. The term EPBs was proposed when ground-based incoherent scatter radar detected
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